< Numbers 21 >

1 And it came to the ears of the Canaanite, the king of Arad, living in the South, that Israel was coming by the way of Atharim, and he came out against them and took some of them prisoners.
And Arad the Chananitish king who lived by the wilderness, heard that Israel came by the way of Atharin; and he made war on Israel, and carried off some of them captives.
2 Then Israel made an oath to the Lord, and said, If you will give up this people into my hands, then I will send complete destruction on all their towns.
And Israel vowed a vow to the Lord, and said, If you will deliver this people into my power, I will devote it and its cities [to you].
3 And the Lord, in answer to the voice of Israel, gave the Canaanites up to them; and they put them and their towns completely to destruction: and that place was named Hormah.
And the Lord listened to the voice of Israel, and delivered the Chananite into his power; and [Israel] devoted him and his cities, and they called the name of that place Anathema.
4 Then they went on from Mount Hor by the way to the Red Sea, going round the land of Edom: and the spirit of the people was overcome with weariness on the way.
And having departed from mount Or by the way [leading] to the Red Sea, they compassed the land of Edom, and the people lost courage by the way.
5 And crying out against God and against Moses, they said, Why have you taken us out of Egypt to come to our death in the waste land? For there is no bread and no water, and this poor bread is disgusting to us.
And the people spoke against God and against Moses, saying, Why is this? Hast you brought us ought of Egypt to kill us in the wilderness? for there is not bread nor water; and our soul loathes this light bread.
6 Then the Lord sent poison-snakes among the people; and their bites were a cause of death to numbers of the people of Israel.
And the Lord sent among the people deadly serpents, and they bit the people, and much people of the children of Israel died.
7 Then the people came to Moses and said, We have done wrong in crying out against the Lord and against you: make prayer to the Lord to take away the snakes from us. So Moses made prayer for the people.
And the people came to Moses and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord, and against you: pray therefore to the Lord, and let him take away the serpent from us.
8 And the Lord said to Moses, Make an image of a snake and put it on a rod, and anyone who has been wounded by the snakes, looking on it will be made well.
And Moses prayed to the Lord for the people; and the Lord said to Moses, Make you a serpent, and put it on a signal-[staff]; and it shall come to pass that whenever a serpent shall bite a man, every one [so] bitten that looks upon it shall live.
9 So Moses made a snake of brass and put it on a rod; and anyone who had a snakebite, after looking on the snake of brass, was made well.
And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a signal-[staff]: and it came to pass that whenever a serpent bit a man, and he looked on the brazen serpent, he lived.
10 Then the children of Israel went on and put up their tents in Oboth.
And the children of Israel departed, and encamped in Oboth.
11 And journeying on again from Oboth, they put up their tents in Iye-abarim, in the waste land before Moab looking east.
And having departed from Oboth, they encamped in Achalgai, on the farther side in the wilderness, which is opposite Moab, toward the east.
12 And moving on from there, they put up their tents in the valley of Zered.
And thence they departed, and encamped in the valley of Zared.
13 From there they went on and put up their tents on the other side of the Arnon, which is on the waste land at the edge of the land of the Amorites; for the Arnon is the line of division between Moab and the Amorites:
And they departed thence and encamped on the other side of Arnon in the wilderness, [the country] which extends from the coasts of the Amorites; for Arnon is the borders of Moab, between Moab and the Amorites.
14 As it says in the book of the Wars of the Lord, Vaheb in Suphah, and the valley of the Amon;
Therefore it is said in a book, A war of the Lord has set on fire Zoob, and the brooks of Arnon.
15 The slope of the valleys going down to the tents of Ar and touching the edge of Moab.
And he has appointed brooks to cause Er to dwell [there]; and it lies near to the coasts of Moab.
16 From there they went on to Beer, the water-spring of which the Lord said to Moses, Make the people come together and I will give them water.
And thence [they came to] the well; this [is] the well of which the Lord said to Moses, Gather the people, and I will give them water to drink.
17 Then Israel gave voice to this song: Come up, O water-spring, let us make a song to it:
Then Israel sang this song at the well, Begin [to sing] of the well;
18 The fountain made by the chiefs, made deep by the great ones of the people, with the law-givers' rod, and with their sticks. Then from the waste land they went on to Mattanah:
the princes digged it, the kings of the nations in their kingdom, in their lordship sank it in the rock: and [they went] from the well to Manthanain,
19 And from Mattanah to Nahaliel: and from Nahaliel to Bamoth:
and from Manthanain to Naaliel, and from Naaliel to Bamoth, and from Bamoth to Janen, which is in the plain of Moab [as seen] from the top of the quarried [rock] that looks toward the wilderness.
20 And from Bamoth to the valley in the open country of Moab, and to the top of Pisgah looking over Jeshimon.
And Moses sent ambassadors to Seon king of the Amorites, with peaceful words, saying,
21 And Israel sent men to Sihon, king of the Amorites, saying,
We will pass through your land, we will go by the road; we will not turn aside to the field or to the vineyard.
22 Let me go through your land: we will not go into field or vine-garden, or take the water of the springs; we will go by the highway till we have gone past the limits of your land.
We will not drink water out of your well; we will go by the king's highway, until we have past your boundaries.
23 And Sihon would not let Israel go through his land; but got all his people together and went out against Israel into the waste land, as far as Jahaz, to make war on Israel.
And Seon did not allow Israel to pass through his borders, and Seon gathered all his people, and went out to set the battle in array against Israel into the wilderness; and he came to Jassa, and set the battle in array against Israel.
24 But Israel overcame him, and took all his land from the Arnon to the Jabbok, as far as the country of the children of Ammon, for the country of the children of Ammon was strongly armed.
And Israel struck him with the slaughter of the sword, and they became possessors of his land, from Arnon to Jaboc, as far as the children of Amman, for Jazer is the borders of the children of Amman.
25 And Israel took all their towns, living in Heshbon and all the towns and small places of the Amorites.
And Israel took all their cities, and Israel lived in all the cities of the Amorites, in Esebon, and in all cities belonging to it.
26 For Heshbon was the town of Sihon, king of the Amorites, who had made war against an earlier king of Moab and taken from him all his land as far as the Arnon.
For Esebon is the city of Seon king of the Amorites; and he before fought against the king of Moab, and they took all his land, from Aroer to Arnon.
27 So the makers of wise sayings say, Come to Heshbon, building up the town of Sihon and making it strong:
Therefore say they who deal in dark speeches, Come to Esebon, that the city of Seon may be built and prepared.
28 For a fire has gone out of Heshbon, a flame from the town of Sihon: for the destruction of Ar in Moab, and the lords of the high places of the Arnon.
For a fire has gone forth from Esebon, a flame from the city of Seon, and has consumed as far as Moab, and devoured the pillars of Arnon.
29 Sorrow is yours, O Moab! Destruction is your fate, O people of Chemosh: his sons have gone in flight, and his daughters are prisoners, in the hands of Sihon, king of the Amorites.
Woe to you, Moab; you are lost, you people of Chamos: their sons are sold for preservation, and their daughters are captives to Seon king of the Amorites.
30 They are wounded with our arrows; destruction has come on Heshbon, even to Dibon; and we have made the land waste as far as Nophah, stretching out to Medeba.
And their seed shall perish [from] Esebon to Daebon; and their women have yet farther kindled a fire against Moab.
31 So Israel put up their tents in the land of the Amorites.
And Israel lived in all the cities of the Amorites.
32 And Moses sent men secretly to Jazer, and they took its towns, driving out the Amorites who were living there.
And Moses sent to spy out Jazer; and they took it, and its villages, and cast out the Amorite that lived there.
33 Then turning they went up by the way of Bashan; and Og, king of Bashan, went out against them with all his people, to the fight at Edrei.
And having returned, they went up the road thhebraismat leads to Basan; and Og the king of Basan went forth to meet them, and all his people to war to Edrain.
34 And the Lord said to Moses, Have no fear of him: for I have given him up into your hands, with all his people and his land; do to him as you did to Sihon, king of the Amorites, at Heshbon.
And the Lord said to Moses, Fear him not; for I have delivered him and all his people, and all his land, into your hands; and you shall do to him as you did to Seon king of the Amorites, who lived in Esebon.
35 So they overcame him and his sons and his people, driving them all out: and they took his land for their heritage.
And he struck him and his sons, and all his people, until he left none of his to be taken alive; and they inherited his land.

< Numbers 21 >